Martina Hingis defeated Venus Williams in the final, 6–0, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1997 US Open.

By reaching the final, she became the seventh woman (after Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Monica Seles) to reach all four major singles finals in a calendar year.

Hingis was the youngest woman to reach all four major finals, and the youngest to win three majors in a calendar year.

Williams was the first unseeded player in the Open Era to reach the final.

Steffi Graf was the two-time reigning champion, but withdrew due to injury.